Syracuse University to open 2011 football season in Dome against Wake Forest

Frank Ordoñez / The Post-StandardOrange receiver Alec Lemon warms up before the New Era Pinstripe Bowl game Dec. 30 at Yankee Stadium. Syracuse University, which went 8-5 in 2010 and made its first bowl appearance in six seasons, will start the 2011 season with a home game against Wake Forest.

Syracuse, NY -- Another Syracuse University opponent has announced its schedule, although the date isn't carved in stone yet.

Atlantic Coast Conference member Wake Forest will visit the Carrier Dome on Sept. 3, according to the web site NCAAFootball.com.

That will be the home opener for the Orange, although SU hasn't announced its 2011 schedule yet because it is waiting for the Big East to figure out the conference slate and television scheduling with ESPN.

One source familiar with the scheduling said the opener against Wake won't necessarily be on Saturday, Sept. 3. The game could possibly be moved to another day on Labor Day weekend.

Regardless of the day, that makes three known weekends in the fall lineup, along with a Sept. 17 visit to Los Angeles for a game against Southern California and an Oct. 8 trip to New Orleans to play Tulane.

The Orange will also play host to non-conference teams Toledo and Rhode Island, presumably in the remaining September slots -- the 10th and 24th, or maybe on Oct. 1.

Last season, the Orange had its only bye week on Oct. 2. This year's schedule should include a second Saturday off, some time in November, if the conference does its schedule the same way it did last year.

In 2010, the Big East, ESPN and ABC set up a three-game television package featuring the league's top six teams (from the previous year) on "championship weekend." That's the first weekend in December, when other conferences are playing title games.

Last year, league bottom finishers Syracuse and Louisville were left out of that mix. SU finished fourth in the conference in 2010, so it should play on the final weekend. Rutgers and Cincinnati should get left out this year.

SU's slate of conference games will include home games with Cincinnati, South Florida, Rutgers and West Virginia, and road trips to Connecticut, Louisville and Pittsburgh.